The Regulation of Altered States of Consciousness: A History of Repression and Resistance
S. Boyd
Contemporary Justice Review 2001 DOI: 10.1080/10282580.2001.12562685 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Altered states of consciousness |
| Key points | Argues that the regulation of altered states of consciousness and drug criminalization, rooted in Christian ideology, colonization, and capitalism, perpetuates social inequalities and suppresses dissent, and proposes drug legalization and decarceration as remedies. |
Abstract
This essay will examine the regulation of altered states of consciousness and the criminalization of specific drags against the backdrop of Christian ideology, colonization, and capitalism. In addition, this essay reveals how the regulation of altered states of consciousness contributes both to race, class, and gender Inequality as well as to the regulation and suppression of spiritual belief, medical knowledge, political dissent, imagination, and egalitarianism. Witch hunts, industrialization, positivism, temperance ideology, and continued colonization will be examined. The second half of the essay will explore, the beat and 1960s movements, the CIA’s experimentation with LSD, the “war on drags,” and the legalization of illegal drags and decarceration as practical solutions to the expanding prison industry.
Comparable studies
Other theoretical and historical papers on altered states of consciousness, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Altered States of Consciousness | 1966 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Functional neuroanatomy of altered states of consciousness: The transient hypofrontality hypothesis | 2003 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| The Psychedelic Mystical Experience in the Human Encounter with Death | 1969 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| A neurophenomenological approach to non-ordinary states of consciousness: hypnosis, meditation, and psychedelics | 2022 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Hypnotic phenomena and altered states of consciousness: a multilevel framework of description and explanation | 2003 | Theoretical or philosophical paper |